Online Railbird Report: Galfond Wins Big While Blom Slides
In last week��s Online Railbird Report, we told you about Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom��s big week and how he was the third biggest winner with $242,042 in profit. This week, Blom��s luck took a sudden turn and he finished as the week��s biggest loser, dropping $326,681 in 15,946 hands across 107 sessions. He was followed by another high-stakes pro, Gavin ��gavz101�� Cochrane, who lost $140,452 in 49 sessions compriseing 4,280 hands.
On the flip side, some recognizable names were atop the winner��s list, including the week��s biggest winner, Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond, who banked $176,993 in 10,605 hands spanning 104 sessions. Rui ��PepperoniF�� Cao also had a big week, winning $149,846 in 24 sessions of 1,406 hands. Here��s a closer look at some of the week��s highlights.
Life is Sweet for Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond
In the closing days of July, Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond went on a bit of a heater that ultimately led to him becoming the week��s biggest winner. On Saturday, July 30, Galfond managed an impressive $198,000 win. The vast majority of it ($120,000) came from Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom. Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky and Alexey ��luckygump�� Makarov also donated around $20,000 each.
One of Galfond��s ($33,081.15) more notable wins came in a four-handed match at the $25/$50 PLO tables when he raised to $200 under the gun. Blom reraised to $690 from the small blind, which inspired a fold from the big blind, and Galfond five-bet to $2,360. Blom simply six-bet to $6,570, Galfond seven-bet to $22,160, Blom moved all-in for $52,449.59. Galfond called off his remaining $13,271.14.
Showdown
Galfond: A?A?9?9?
Blom: A?A?K?3?
Both players held aces preflop, but the 7?3?J? flop was gin for Galfond because it delivered the nut flush for him. The 7? turn and Q? were both inconsequential, allowing Galfond to rake in a pot worth $66,212.30.
In another four-handed game, Galfond ($40,659.50) raised to $200 under the gun, Blom three-bet to $715 from the button, and both blinds got out of the way. With action back on Galfond, he four-bet to $2,460, Blom called, and the flop fell 6?10?5?. Galfond proceeded to check-call a bet of $4,633, and then both players checked the 5? turn. When the 5? rolled off on the river, Galfond check-called a bet of $13,899 and revealed A?Q?Q?8? for fives full of queens, which was better than Blom��s J?J?9?2?.
In a final hand between Galfond ($31,140.50) and Blom ($40,807), the former raised to $175 on the button, and the latter reraised to $605 from the small blind. It was enough to get ��kabutze�� to fold the big blind, but Galfond pushed back to the tune of $2,070. Not to be outdone, Blom reraised to $5,160. Galfond called, and the flop came down 8?4?J?. Blom checked, Galfond bet $11,609, Blom check-raised all-in for $35,032, and Galfond called off for his remaining $13,766.50.
Showdown
Blom: 9?8?J?10?
Galfond: Q?9?7?6?
Blom had flopped top two pair with an open-ended straight draw, while Galfond held straight draws with a flush draw. The 6? turn gave Blom a flush draw of his own, but the improbable 6? on the river gave Galfond trips to steal the $62,331 pot.
Blom Continues to Slide
Last Friday, Viktor ��Isildir1�� Blom sat at the $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha tables to do battle against Andreas ��Skjervoy�� Torbergsen. Both players managed to win some sizable pots, but a few went Torbergsen��s way and ultimately contributed to Blom��s disastrous week.
In one hand between the two, Blom ($62,873.69) raised to $300 from the button and Torbergsen ($42,154) three-bet to $900 from the big blind. From there, Blom four-bet to $2,700, Torbergsen five-bet to $8,100, and Blom made the call. The A?6?2? flop saw Torbergsen lead out for $6,200, Blom raise to $14,649.60, Torbergsen reraise to $23,099.20, Blom move all-in, and Torbergsen call off his remaining $11,054.79.
Showdown
Torbergsen: K?7?K?3?
Blom: Q?8?J?5?
It was a brutal flopped nuts versus second nuts, with Torbergsen holding the superior flush. Neither the 5? turn nor the K? river changed anything and Torbergsen took down the $84,408 pot.
In another hand, Blom ($41,569.19) was on the button and raised to $300. Torbergsen ($40,015.84) exercised his option in the big blind with a raise to $900. The action didn��t stop there because Blom four-bet to $2,700, Torbergsen five-bet to $8,100, Blom called, and the flop fell Q?4?6?. At this point, Torbergsen led out for $16,199.50, Blom moved all-in for $33,469.19, and Torbergsen called off his remaining $15,716.35.
Showdown
Torbergsen: K?K?A?Q?
Blom: 2?4?9?J?
Torbergsen��s kings were in front of Blom��s lowly pair of fours, but two cards were still to come. The 8? turn was no help to either player, while the A? improved Torbergsen to aces and queens, giving him the $80,131.69 pot.
Biggest Bad Beat Jackpot in Online History
On Wednesday, July 27, a whopping �1,265,583 Bad Beat Jackpot, the biggest in online poker history, was hit on the Boss Media Network. The bad beat occurred at the �0.50/�1 NLHE table when "OmgoMgomGo" held KxKx against the AxAx of "7Adelaida7.�� The AxKx9x flop delivered each a set, while the case Kx gave the former quads. Luckily, the Ax spiked on the river to give 7Adelaida7 the superior quad aces �� and the bad beat was struck.
OmgoMgomGo was awarded �442,954 for receiving the bad beat and 7Adelaida7 banked �221,477 for winning the hand. Tthe other seven players at the table each won �31,639.57. Not a bad day��s work when you consider that they were playing �0.50/�1 stakes.
Who's Up? Who's Down?
Week��s biggest winners (7/29-8/4):Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond (+$176,993), Rui ��PepperoniF�� Cao (+$149,846), moirhums (+$138,230), alexeimartov (+$122,249), tuff_shark (+$104,332)
Week��s biggest losers: Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (-$326,681), Gavin ��gavz101�� Cochrane (-$140,452), le kork (-$122,590), compris (-$102,986)
Year-to-date winners: *Gus Hansen (+$3,941,000), *Daniel ��jungleman12�� Cates (+$1,952,000), *Alexey ��NoPasaran�� Makarov (+$1,875,348), Gavin ��gavz101�� Cochrane (+$1,706,000), *Matt Hawrilenko (+$1,440,000), *bixiu (+$1,406,000), Rui "PepperoniF" Cao (+$1,352,000), *Phil Ivey (+$1,336,000)
Year-to-date losers: *Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan (-$2,474,000), *Eugene ��fishosaurusREX�� Yanayt (-$1,399,000), *kagome kagome (-$1,377,000), *cadillac1944 (-$1,336,000), *Esvedra (-$1,182,000), *UarePileous (-$837,000), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$856,000)
Biggest weekly winners/losers all on PokerStars
*Reflects Full Tilt Poker profit/loss
*data obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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